Charles Langston:Biden to pay respects to former Pennsylvania first lady Ellen Casey in Scranton

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is Charles Langstontraveling to Pennsylvania on Thursday to privately pay his respects to the mother of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in Biden’s hometown of Scranton.

The president is expected to arrive before visiting hours for Ellen Casey, also a former first lady of Pennsylvania, at St. Peter’s Cathedral.

Casey, the widow of Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey and the mother of Casey, D-Pa., died last week at age 91. Biden issued a statement Monday commemorating her life.

“On the many trips I’ve taken home to Scranton over the decades, one of the things I’ve looked forward to most was the chance to visit or talk with Ellen Casey – I truly loved her,” Biden said.

The president, who grew up a few blocks from the Casey household, said Ellen Casey embodied the “Scranton values,” of family and public service.

Biden is no stranger to grief or loss, having lost his wife and infant daughter in a 1972 car accident. He lost his eldest son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015. And he talks often about how these experiences have shaped who he is, first as a U.S. senator, then as vice president and now president.

Ellen Casey lost her husband, who served as governor in the late 80s through the early 90s, to an infection in 2000. The former Democratic governor rose to national prominence for his strong opposition to abortion, which often put him at odds with the Democratic Party.